OUR WINNERS
1st Place: WE MATTER
By Michael Riley (@mikey_goldie), 20
ABOUT THE ART: White America chooses not to see us for who we are; they only want to see the hatred they were taught. Moreover, white America defines African Americans as undeserving, weak, lazy thugs; never seeing us as their equals or the human beings that we are.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Michael is a passionate artist born in New Orleans and raised in Atlanta. He is skilled at drawing with both ink and graphite, and has recently started branching out into oil paintings as well. Creating works with a political message is a new genre that Michael has been exploring and is grateful for the unique platform that art has been able to give to his voice.
2nd Place: Sound of Da Police
By Jazzmin Imani (@jazzminimani), 19
ABOUT THE ART: Recently, a CNN headline potently described the state of America in the summer of 2020: "Two Deadly Viruses Are Killing Americans: Covid-19 And Racism." Both crises disproportionately affect Black people and both are being held in limbo due to an inability to make necessary changes to American systems. My piece, Sound of Da Police, addresses the violent policing of Black bodies that has been in the spotlight this summer. The piece takes inspiration from a section of the song "Sound of Da Police" by KRS-One. The lines compare the word 'officer' to 'overseer' and acknowledge the role of officers today and how that role is tied to the overseer's role on a plantation. The scene of the Black women was modeled after the club scenes shown in the movie Paid in Full, and the piece is staged against a cotton field as if when the police appear, everyone involved becomes trapped in Colonial America. My piece challenges the idea that we are in a "Post-Colonial America." The justice system has shown that it does not stand for Black lives. The country's COVID-19 response has shown that it does not stand for Black lives. In 2020, we still ask ourselves as Black Americans when this country will stand for Black lives in its policies, systems, and elected officials because the change cannot begin and will not last until there is a universal understanding that Black lives-at the very least-matter.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Jazzmin is a sophomore at Brown University studying visual arts and cognitive neuroscience. Her main style is oil paintings because of the vivid colors they afford, but loves using other mediums to put forth the messages about personal struggle, family, and being black.
3rd Place: XIII in Form
By Austin Washington (@warlockinwords), 24
ABOUT THE ART: XIII in Form, is a piece that plays on the "unlucky" nature of the number 13, as well as my take on what school felt like to me as well as what I see it doing to society at large. I as a black man in this society have a love hate relationship with the number 13, schools and prisons, so I explored the concept in this tight 13 line poem.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Austin has been writing poetry since he was 16 years old and fell in love with theatre. He is currently studying acting at Eastern Connecticut State University, looking to merge it with his own creative directing and writing styles. Seeing black people on the big screen growing up inspired Austin to pursue the arts and change stereotypes of the types of interests black people should have.
